all urban areas to individuals resident in the State and to organisations for residential,
agriculture, commercial and other purposes.
In the Cabinda case above, the Commission made a distinction between indigenous
rights to land that warrant special protection, and other rights to land, which can be
legitimately limited by the state on public interest grounds.
In Balmer-Schafroth & Ors V. Switzerland 1997 IV ECHR Judgment of 26th August
1997, where the Applicants argued that they were entitled to a hearing over the
Government’s decision to renew an operating permit for a nuclear power plant, the
European Court found that the Applicants had not established a direct link between
the operating conditions of the power station and their right to protection of their
physical integrity, because they failed to show that the operation of the power station
exposed them personally to a danger that was serious, specific and above all
imminent. They failed to establish the dangers and remedies with a degree of
probability that made the outcome of the proceedings directly decisive for the right
they invoked
Assuming that the Plaintiffs have the right to challenge the award of oil mining
licenses, they have failed to sufficiently provide evidence to support the facts they
bring forth or to buttress the discrimination they claim to have been victims of. They
have failed to prove that they actually participated in a bid and were disqualified,
neither did they attach any documents to show that they complied with the
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